Rocket-assisted ship reorientation system



Sept. 17, 1968 0. L. WICKERSHAM 3,401,562

ROCKET-ASSISTED SHIP REORIENTATION SYSTEM 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 20, 1967 CONTQOLLEE' I N VEN TOR.

HTTOQA/EY" Sept. 17, 1968 o. 1.. WICKERSHAM 3,401,662

ROCKET-ASSISTED SHIP REORIENTATION SYSTEM 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 20, 1967 .21 Q4 1 eo 52 5o) 47 e1 7|, -Iz s I J 4 9 A A l 4 1 t 7 DORIS L. W/CKEESHAM INVENTOR.

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14TITOIQA/EV Sept. 17, 1968 D. WICKERSHAM 3,401,562

ROCKET-ASSISTED SHIP REORIENTATION SYSTEM Filed April 20, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 99L Io;

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5 Doe/s L. W/CKEQSl-lflfid v INVENTOR.

United States Patent 0 3,401,662 ROCKET-ASSISTED SHIP REORIENTATION SYSTEM Doris L. Wickersham, Los Angeles County, Calif. (3424 Alana Drive, Sherman Oaks, Calif. 91403) Filed Apr. 20, 1967, Ser. No. 632,267 18 Claims. (Cl. 114-51) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the invention This invention relates to a rocket-assisted ship reorientation system, and more particularly to a system wherein rockets, mounted on the hull of a disabled ship, are fired selectively to accomplish a change in attitude of the vessel, thereby permitting recovery of the ship or its contents.

2. Description of the prior art The occasional running aground of a commercial ship is front page news not so much because of its infrequency as because of the magnitude of the damage or loss involved. Typically, an ocean going freighter, with a full complement of cargo, may be worth upwards of five million dollars.

Often, when a ship has been impaled on rocks or a substantial portion of its keel has been beached, it is extremely difiicult to recover the ship. For example, the force provided by the ships engines and propellers may be insufiicient to pull the ship off the rocks or beach. Further, the tendency of waves and swells is to cause the ship to broach to, swinging the ship broadside to the shore, possibly further impaling the ship, and making recovery yet more difficult.

Even after hope has been abandoned for recovering the vessel itself, the same conditions of rocks, treacherous waves and abnormal ship orientation may hinder salvage operations by salvage ships or divers. The orientation of the ship, resulting in submerged hatches, for example, makes it diflicult or impposible to recover the cargo.

At present, techniques for recovering a grounded vessel are limited. Occasionally, with a fortuitous high tide, another ship might be able to tow the disabled vessel sufficiently far 05 the rocks or beach to refloat it. More often, the ship is abandoned and divers used to recover what they can of the cargo. In the last instance, recovery is from the insurance company.

The present invention contemplates the use of rockets, attached to the hull of a grounded or disabled vessel, to provide (for short durations of time) the extremely large forces required to reorient the ship. The rockets, which may be flown to the recovery site by helicopter, provide sufficient force to alter the attitude of the vessel, thereby permitting recovery of the ship or salvage of its contents.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention which forms the subject matter of this application comprises a rocket-assisted ship reorientation salvage of 1 3,401,662 Patented Sept. 17, 1968 ice system employing rockets to provide sufiiciently large forces to reorient a grounded or disabled vessel. Rockets of appropriate size and provided with appropriate mounting paraphernalia may be brought to a recovery site by salvage ship or helicopter, then welded or bolted to the hull of the vessel. Appropriate methods are suggested for distribution of the resultant load forces on the ship structure when the rockets are fired. The rockets may be fired simultaneously or sequentially, either selectively or in a preprogrammed order, to achieve changes of the ship's heading or attitude (in any direction), or to move the vessel in abnormal directions. The resultant improved orientation then may permit recovery of the ship or salvage of its contents.

A rocket thrust adapter also is described which includes a rocket mounted on a base plate in such a way as to permit adjustment of the angle between the rocket thrust and the plane of the base plate. The base plate itself is configured to facilitate its attachment to structured members in the hull of a ship.

It is therefore a primary objective of this invention to provide a rocket-assisted ship reorientation system.

Another object of this invention is to provide a system and process for utilizing rockets, attached to the hull of a diabled vessel, to provide sufiiciently large forces to alter the attitude of the vessel.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a system wherein rockets, attached to a ship, are fired selectively in a preprogrammed order to accomplish mass movements of a vessel not otherwise possible.

A further object of this invention is to provide a system and technique for using rockets attached to a grounded vessel to scour the ground material holding the ship.

Another object of this invention is to provide a rocket thrust adapter including a base plate configured for attachment to the hull or deck of a vessel.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a rocket thrust adapter which may be transported to a disabled vehicle by helicopter.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a rocket thrust adapter including a rocket which may be mounted on a vessel to provide thrust in a selectively adjustable direction.

The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The present invention, both as to its organization and manner of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a rocket thrust adapter which may be attached to the hull of a ship and used to aifect the attitude of the ship;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation view of the rocket thrust adapter illustrated in FIGURE 1, showing brackets, included in the mounting frame, for adjustment of the angular portion of the rocket, one such position being shown in phantom lines;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view, partly in elevation, of the rocket thrust adatper as seen generally along line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 illustrates diagrammatically a rocket thrust adapter, such as that shown in FIGURE 1, for use in providing a lifting force to raise and thereby loosen the bow of a grounded ship;

FIGURE 5 illustrates diagrammatically the use of rocket thrust adapters of the type shown in FIGURE 1 to lar members 33 and 33' provide both vertical and horizontal thrust to assist inrefloating a grounded vessel;

FIGURES 6 and 7 illustrate diagrammatically how rocket thrust adapters mounted on the hull or deck of a ship may be used to maintain or alter the speed or heading of the vessel;

FIGURE 8 illustrates diagrammatically the use of a plurality of rocket thrust adapters, attached to the hull of a grounded ship, to scour or remove ground material holding the ship as well as to provide forces for removing the ship from its beached condition;

FIGURE 9 illustrates diagrammatically the use of a number of rocket thrust adapters, attached vertically to the hull of a beached ship, for lifting or loosening the vessel from the ground;

FIGURE 10 is an elevation view, in partial section, of the bow of a vessel equipped with fixed, forward-firing rockets which may be used for collision prevention;

FIGURE 11 is a sectional view, taken generally along line 11-11 of FIGURE 9, showing the use of reinforcing cables to distribute the structural load resulting from the firing of vertically oriented rocket thrust adapters attached to the hull near the bow of a vessel;

FIGURE 12 is a side elevation view, in partial section, showing a rocket thrust adapter mounted on the deck, near the stern of a vessel, to provide aft pushing thrust; and

FIGURE 13 is a sectional view, taken generally along line 13-13 of FIGURE 12, showing a plurality of rocket thrust adapters mounted to distribute the aft pushing thrust somewhat evenly across the width of the ship.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention which forms the subject matter of this application contemplates the use of rockets, attached to the hull of a disabled vessel and fired simultaneously or in sequence, to improve its orientation or change its attitude, thereby permitting recovery of the ship or aiding in the salvage of its contents. A preferred embodiment of a rocket thrust adapter useful for this purpose is illustrated in FIGURES l, 2 and 3.

As shown most clearly in FIGURE 1, rocket thrust adapter 20 comprises rocket 21 appropriately mounted on base plate 25. Rocket 21 may be of a design well known to those skilled in the rocket art, and may utilize either solid or liquid propellant, the latter being desirable for applications where selectively controllable thrust is desired. Typically, rocket 21 may include fuel chamber 22, ignition region 23 and nozzle 24. An appropriate ignition system 29, shown in phantom in FIGURE 1, may be used to fire rocket 21. When a liquid fueled rocket is employed, thrust controller 31 (also shown in phantom and of a type well known to those skilled in the rocket art) may be utilized to alter selectively the thrust of rocket 21, for example, by varying its fuel flow rate.

Base plate 25 preferably is of steel and may contain holes 26 to facilitate mounting adapter 20 to the hull of a vessel using bolts or rivets. Alternatively, base plate 25 may be welded to the hull. Although not shown, the base plate may be curved to conform to the curvature of the hull of the ship to which it is to be attached; however, for most applications of interest, any hull curvature over the distances involved is so slight as to be practically disregarded. Base plate 25 is provided with reinforcing structural steel angles 27 and 28 which function to distribute the load when rocket 21 is fired. In the embodiment shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, angles 27 also serve as mounting brackets for legs 30 which carry pivotal rocket support 32. Pivotal support 32 includes tubular members 33 and 33 and heavy axle pin 34. Pin 34 extends through tubuand a pivot hole through rocket support member 35, which members thus serve to anchor the front end of rocket 21 and distribute the forward thrust 4 forces therefrom to the legs 30 for appropriate distribution to angles 27, plate 25 and finally the ship itself.

As seen in the preferred embodiment of FIGURES l, 2 and 3, rocket 21 also is supported by strap 36 and tubular rocket holder sections 37. A heavy steel pin, not shown, may extend through sections 37 to improve the structural rigidity of the rocket holder. When the desired thrust direction is approximately parallel to the plane of base plate 25, strap 36 may be attached directly to structural angles 28. As best seen in FIGURE 3, this may be accomplished using bolt 38 extending through holes 39 in strap 36 and appropriate holes 40 in angles 28. When some other thrust direction is desired, rocket 21 may be pivoted about axle pin 34 and rigidly mounted at the selected angle using angle setting brackets 41, as shown in phantom in FIGURE 2.

FIGURES 4 through 9 illustrate diagrammatically various ways in which rockets (or rocket thrust adapters such as the embodiment of FIGURES l, 2 and 3), attached to a vessel may be used in accordance with the present invention to affect the attitude of the ship. It should be noted that these illustrations are exemplary only for the purposes of teaching the utilization of the present invention, and that variations from the specific configurations and locations shown may be required to accomplish the desired reorientation of a particular grounded or disabled vessel.

The diagram of FIGURE 4 shows in simplified form the use of rockets to lift or loosen the grounded bow 51 of a vessel 50 from the earth or rocks on which it is lodged. For this purpose, rocket 60 (which may comprise rocket 21 of rocket thrust adapter 20 shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3) is shown mounted on the outside of the hull, near bow 51, and above water line 47. To minimize undesired roll of ship about its longitudinal axis, a pair of rockets is preferably symmetricallyxmounted port (not visible in FIGURE 4) and starboard. As shown, rocket 60 is oriented with its thrust nozzle pointing downward to provide, when fired, a lifting force represented by arrow 71.

The major forces acting on grounded ship 50 (see FIGURE 4) include the downward pull of gravity, indicated by weight arrow 72 acting through the center of gravity 52 of the ship. Upward forces on the ship include the buoyancy of water 48 (represented by arrow 73) and the support provided by earth 45 (represented by arrow 74). Essentially horizontal forces acting on ship 50 include those exerted by the tide, water currents, and/or waves, and represented generally by arrow 75. Further, if the ships engines are reversed, propeller 54 may be used to provide a force (see arrow 76) tending to pull ship 50 away from the ground.

Flotation of grounded ship 50 (see FIGURE 4) is accomplished by firing rocket 60 with a sufficient thrust so that the resultant upward force 71 is great enough to overcome the downward force 72 and the frictional forces exerted on the hull by rocks or earth 45. In a particular application, flotation is accomplished with a single rocket burst of relatively short duration. Alternatively, multiple bursts of thrust, or a single burst of longer duration, is more effective in a particular application; for example, the ship may be rocked applying a short burst to lift the bow enough to cause some rotation of the ship about a transverse axis, such as the center of gravity or the transitory center of buoyancy, then permitting counter-rotation because of the unbalanced condition then pertaining until maximum counter-rotation occurs with consequent partial lifting of the stern about the transverse axis, then firing the rocket for an even longer burst to take advantage of the bow-lifting torque occasioned by descent of the stern.

In other situations, abnormal roll of ship 50 might be required to free how 51 from ground 45. This may be accomplished by firing port and starboard rockets 60 with different thrust values, for different durations, or in alteraway from shore by initially nating sequence (e.g., by first firing the port rocket, then the one on the starboard side).

When how 51 has been worked clear of ground 45 by the action of rockets 60, the force 76 developed by screw 54 propels ship 50 clear of the ground. In some instances, however, as where an extended length of the keel 55 is in contact with ground 45, the horizontal force 76 developed by propeller 54 may be insufiicient to pull ship 50away from the ground during the period that bow 51 is being elevated by the thrust of rockets 60. To overcome this problem, a rocket configuration such as that shown in FIGURE may be employed.

As indicated in FIGURE 5, ship 50 is provided with an additional rocket 61 or set of rockets mounted on an aft deck, with their thrust nozzles pointed forward. When fired, rockets 61 produce a reaction force (reprerented by arrow 77) in the aft direction. Using this oncfi'guration, rockets 61 maybe fired in an appropriate simultaneousor sequential fashion to force vessel 50 away from the shore while bow 51 is freed from ground 45 by the action of rockets 60 as previously described in reference to FIGURE 4. Of course, aft rockets 61 could be fired before, during, after or in alternation with firing of bow rockets 60.

An alternate rocket location to provide thrust in the aft direction is illustrated diagrammatically in FIGURE 6. In this embodiment, rocket 62 (which of course may be a rocket thrust adapter 20 such as shown in FIGURES l, 2 and 3) has been mounted on the hull of ship 50, near how 51, in a substantially horizontal plane, and with its thrust nozzle forward. As before, a pair of rockets similarly mounted port and starboard may be used to minimize yaw of the ship. When fired, rockets 62 will produce a thrust resulting in a force (represented by arrow 77') in an aft direction.

Rockets 62 may be used to propel ship 50 in an aft direction away from an object (not shown) with which it has collided. Alternatively, they may be used as retrorockets to alter very rapidly the velocity of the vessel. For example, if ship 50 is proceeding with a forward velocity represented by arrow 81, firing of rockets 62 would result in an acceleration (represented by arrow 82) in the aft direction, thus reducing the forward velocity of the ship. Thus, rockets 62 could be used in conjunction with reversed propellers 54, e.g., to counteract the efiect of tides, waves, or currents which were driving the ship toward some obstacle. Further, if substantial thrust is provided, retro-rockets 62 can abruptly stop the forward motion of a ship of substantial size, perhaps within one ships-length. Such retro-rockets thus can be used to prevent collisions.

FIGURE 7 shows yet another application of rocket thrust adapters 20, namely, to control the heading or yaw of a ship. For example, ship 50 may be provided with a pair of bow rockets 63p and 63s (respectively mounted with their nozzles pointing in the port and starboarddirections) and a pair of stern rockets 64p and 64s, mounted on the deck. Alternatively, either the bow or stern rockets (or both) may be mounted to the sides of the ship, as indicated in phantom by typical stern rockets 65p and 65s (see FIGURE 7). Such lateral rockets 65p and 65s may be mounted just above the water line to minimize roll of ship 50 when the rockets are fired.

Sideways pointing rockets 63 and 64 (see FIGURE 7) may be used to alter rapidly the heading of vessel 50. For example, were ship 50 proceeding forward, firing of rockets 63s and 64p (as indicated by thrust exhaust 80) would result in horizontal forces (represented by arrows 78 and 78) which would tend to rotate ship 50 clockwise. In conjunction with the operation of rudder 56, which oriented as shown, results in a force represented by arrow 79, such horizontal forces cause ship 50 to alter its heading in the clockwise (starboard) direction.

An alternate use of aft lateral rockets 65s and 65p is to maintain the heading of a grounded ship. For example, were ship 50 grounded with its bow facing shoreline 46 (shown in phantom in FIGURE 7), the action of swells and waves 49 typically would push stem 57 around so as to cause the ship to broach. That is, waves 49 exert a force (represented by arrow 83) which tends to force ship center line 58 toward a direction parallel with shoreline 46. Selective firing of lateral rockets s and 65p may be used to counteract wave force 83.

Rocket thrust adapters 20 may be used in yet another way to aid in the recovery of a grounded vessel. As illustrated in FIGURE 8, one or more rockets 66 may be mounted either below (as shown) or above water line 47 and used to remove the ground material 45 which is holding the hull of ship 50. When fired at an appropriate angle, the supersonic, heated exhaust from rockets 66 scours the ground, eroding away the material near the hull. In addition, the rockets thrust provides a force (represented by arrow 70) which further assists in freeing the vessel.

In an extreme situation Where the hull of a vessel is completely aground and even laterally wedged, a sufiicient number of rockets 67 (see FIGURE 9), each attached to provide vertical thrust, may be used to provide effectively uniform lift for the entire ship. If fired simultaneously, the aggregate sum of the forces (see arrows 71') generated by each rocket will be enough to maintain ship 50 far enough above ground 45 to allow water 48 to flow under the keel, thus eliminating the ground friction while the horizontal thrust providing rockets (not shown in FIGURE 9 but previously described) are used to accomplish lateral movement of ship 50 while the vessel is thus elevated by rockets 67.

As mentioned hereinabove, retro-rockets may be employed to alter very rapidly the forward velocity of a vessel. FIGURE 10 illustrates an embodiment of a collision-prevention apparatus which may be permanently installed in the bow 51 of a vessel 50. The apparatus comprises a plurality of rockets mounted with their thrust nozzles 86 pointing forward. Rockets 85 are held by an appropriate mounting plate 87 which is rigidly attached to vertical stem post 56 and also provides watertight security. One or more diagonal columns 88 are provided which extend from rocket mounting plate 87, through deck plates 59 and 59 to keel 55. The function of diagonal columns 88 is to distribute the load, which occurs when rockets 85 are fired, over a larger portion of the ship structure and directly to keel 55'. When fired simultaneously, with sufficient thrust and duration, retro-rockets 85 may be used to stop a large ship in its own length or less. Such rockets thus could be used to prevent collisions with objects at sea, other ships, or the shore.

The exposition included hereinabove in conjunction with FIGURES 4 through 9 has suggested ways in which rocket thrust adapters 20 of exemplary FIGURES l, 2 and 3 may be used to assist in the reorientation of a grounded or disabled ship. To so utilize these rocket thrust adapters, they must be transported to the disabled vessel and appropriately attached thereto so that, when fired, the resultant stress will not destroy the structural integrity of the ship. Transportation to the vessel being salvaged may be by ship or by helicopter. Rocket thrust adapters 20 then may be attached to the vessel, as suggested by FIGURES 11, 12 and 13, in such a manner as to maximize distribution of the structural load caused by the rocket thrust.

For example, FIGURE 11 illustrates a useful technique for mounting two rocket thrust adapters 20 on opposite sides of the hull of vessel 50, near its bow. Note that, in a preferred embodiment, base plates 25 are sufiiciently large to span two or more longitudinal stringers 90 and, preferably, two or more rib frames 91. Holes 26 (see FIGURE 1) in base plate 25 then may be placed to correspond with the location of stringers 90 and rib frames 91 to which rocket thrust adapter 20 is to be mounted. When possible, the rockets should be positioned at bulkhead locations. If multiple rockets are to be used (as 7 shown in FIGURE 9, for example), they should be spaced appropriately to distribute the load on the vessel rib frames and stringers.

To further insure the structural integrity of vessel 50, appropriate temporary rigging may be utilized to distribute some of the rocket firing stress to other members of the vessel. For example, the arrangement of FIGURE 11 may be used. Here, cables 93 extend from rib frames 91 to tie piece 94 which in turn is connected to keel 55 by vertical cables 95, spreader 96, and shackle 97. Alternatively, temporary columns (not shown in FIGURE 11) may be installed between rib frames 91, in the vicinity of rocket' thrust adapter '20, directly to keel 55. When rockets 21 are attached very close to the'bow, a single cable, extending vertically from keel 55 to the deck, may provide sufficient load distribution.

FIGURES 12 and 13 indicate preferred installation configurations for stem mounted, aft pushing rockets (such as rockets 61 of FIGURES). Note in FIGURE 12 that base plate 25 of rocket thrust adapter 20 again is of sulficient length to span several deck beams 98 and, further, that the rocket 21 is positioned near bulkhead 99. One or more cables 101, extending from the top of bulkhead 99" to the bottom of next forward bulkhead 99", near deep floor member 102, then may be provided for each rocket to distribute the load to the structure of vessel 50.

When a plurality of aft pushing rockets are employed, as illustrated in FIGURE 13, it is preferable that they be spaced apart to distribute the load across as much of the ships structure as possible. For example, as shown, rocket thrust adapters 20 are spaced symmetrically across the deck, and base plate 25 of each adapter 20 is sufliciently wide to span at least two deck girders 103. Moreover, rocket thrust adapters 20 each are positioned either adjacent rib frames 91 or over pillars 104.

It will be appreciated that every ship salvage operation is unique, thus the foregoing descriptions of how rocket thrust adapters may be mounted and used to move a ship in abnormal directions and devious manners are meant to be representative only. Further, the amount of thrust required to accomplish reorientation of a specific vessel will depend on many factors including, but not limited to, the size and tonnage of the ship and its cargo, the extent to which it is aground or damaged, the degree of reorientation desired, the location of the rockets, the state of the tide and sea, and so forth.

However, it will be appreciated as advantageous to equip rocket thrust adapters of the type described with rockets of a reasonably standard size, weight, and thrust, and use an appropriate number of such adapters to obtain the total thrust required for a particular application. As an example, rocket thrust adapter 20 (see FIGURES l, 2 and 3) may be provided with a rocket 21 capable of providing a thrust of 100,000 pounds for a duration of seconds, or of 50,000 pounds for seconds. Typically, a

rocket of this power may have a propellant weight of about 4500 pounds, and a total weight of between about 5400 and 6000 pounds. Such rockets usually have an overall length of between five feet and fifteen feet (depending on their diameter, which may vary between four feet and two and one-half feet respectively) and a nozzle 24 diameter of about three feet. The separable components of a rocket thrust adapter employing such a rocket can be transported easily by helicopter and assembled in place after attachment of the base plate to the vessel.

Using a 100,000 pound thrust rocket and a base plate 25 having overall dimensions on the order of three feet by seven feet, the stress applied to the structural members of a typical vessel may be in the order of 1500 p.s.i. (pounds per square inch) and only about p.s.i. to the hull or deck plates, such being well within the strength thereof.

It will be appreciated that there will be occasions when it will be feasible or desirable to affix the rockets directly to available portions and structural members of the vessel,

even to just the skin, without usage of the previously described adapter at all or with only a portion thereof. Such modifications of usage and applications, as well as specific locations for aflixation of the rockets, will now *be obvious to those skilled in the arts of ship construction and salvage.

It should be clear that the rockets employed to reorient a particular ship may be fired simultaneously or sequentially, either with or without selectively controllable thrust, to accomplish the desired movement or torque of the vessel. Moreover, the rockets may be fired in a preprogrammed manner, or may be actuated and thrust-controlled selectively as the ships attitude (in all directions) varies responsively.

Thus, there has been described a system which, in accordance with the maxim that time is of the essence, permits rapid action for both preventing disastrous orientation and motion of a moving ship and also assisting in obtaining and maintaining appropriate albeit sometimes unusual reorientation of a disabled ship. The latter solution is particularly effective both to avoid further damage to the ship and its cargo while salvage and recovery operations are commencing (e.g., by preventing broaching of a beached ship due to tide and sea action) and to assist in and/or independently accomplish the ship recovery operation itself. Accordingly, the present invention oflfers a practical and relatively economical means for halting the constantly increasing ship and cargo losses which are sadly unavoidable under the archaic practices of the prior art.

What is claimed is:

1. A system for salvage reorientation of a disabled vessel, said system comprising, in combination:

at least One portable rocket capable of supplying large thrust forces for short time durations; mounting means for fixedly securing each said rocket directly to a location on the exterior of said vessel selected in accordance with its disabled condition; and

ignition means for firing said rocket whereby said rocket applies such forces to said vessel for reorientation movement thereof.

2. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein said mounting means comprises a base plate adapted for mounting to the hull or deck of said vessel, said rocket being attached to said base plate.

3. The invention defined in claim 2 wherein said base plate is provided with holes spaced to correspond to the locations of structural members of said vessel.

4. The invention defined in claim 2 wherein said base plate is of sufiicient size to span at least two adjacent structural members of said vessel.

5. The invention defined in claim 2 wherein said mounting means further comprises means for pivotally supporting said rocket on said base plate.

6. The invention defined in claim 5 wherein said mounting means further comprises an angle setting bracket, connectable between said pivotally supported rocket and said base plate for maintaining said rocket at a selected angle with respect to said base plate.

7. The invention defined in claim 2 including a plurality of said rockets, and said ignition means comprises means for firing said rockets in a selectable order.

8. The invention defined in claim 2 wherein said rocket utilizes solid fuel. I

9. The invention defined in claim 2 wherein said rocket utilizes liquid fuel, said system further comprising control means for selectively varying the thrust of said rocket.

10. The invention defined in claim 9 wherein said control means comprises means for controlling the fuel flow rate of said rocket.

11. The invention defined in claim 2, said system further comprising reinforcing means for distributing the structural load in said vessel resultant from firing said rocket.

12. The invention defined in claim 11 wherein said reinforcing means comprises cable means adapted for connection between said hull, adjacent said selected locations, and the keel of said vessel.

13. A system for salvage reorientation of a disabled vessel, said system comprising, in combination:

a plurality of portable rockets capable of supplying large thrust forces for short time durations;

a corresponding plurality of mounting means for fixedly securing said rockets directly to said vessel along the exterior thereof at locations selected in accordance with its disabled condition; and

ignition means for firing said rockets in selectively simultaneous and sequential firing order with respect to each other whereby said rockets apply such forces to said vessel for reorientation movement thereof.

14. The invention defined in claim 13 wherein each of said mounting means comprises a base plate adapted for mounting to structural members of said vessel, and pivotal support means for attaching said rocket to said base plate at a selected angle.

15. The invention defined in claim 13 wherein each of said rockets is a liquid fuel rocket, and further including means for selectively varying the thrust of each said rocket.

16. The invention defined in claim 15 wherein each of said mounting means comprises a base plate adapted for mounting to structural members of said vessel, and pivotal support means for attaching said rocket to said base plate at a selected angle.

17. A process for salvage reorientation of a disabled ship comprising the steps of:

fixedly securing portable rockets directly to said ship along the exterior thereof at locations selected in accordance With its disabled condition; directing the rockets in thrust attitudes further selected in accordance with such disabled condition; and selectively firing said rockets for applying such thrust to said ship for reorientation movement thereof. 18. A process as defined in claim 17 comprising the further step of reinforcing structural members of said ship prior to firing said rockets.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,431,132 11/1947 Malina et a1. 2,885,988 5/1959 Myers -13 X 3,070,329 12/ 1962 Hasbrouck 24452 MILTON BUCHLER, Primary Examiner. TRYGVE M. BLIX, Assistant Examiner. 

